Cooper had a leg injury of some sort that shut him down for the season.  I really like NC's game - particularly his knack for getting in the paint, breaking down defenses, and making good decisions.  Those qualities were sorely missed during conference play (sorry, no other details on the injury).  A healthy Cooper and a healthy Vincent Conn (will be two seasons removed from surgery) represents a strong PG tandem.  Connor Rood, a 6'4" frosh who can play PG or SG, also seemed to gain confidence and trust down the stretch for Hamilton.  So there's some depth to build on at the point.

On a separate injury note, Patrick Mogan had a severe ankle sprain that shut him down for the last few weeks; he is a skilled big at both ends of the floor.  With a year under his belt, expect a significant leap forward from him.  Mogan will provide match-up problems because he can finish with both hands, and he can shoot it from the elbow and the arc.

It's the play of guys in between the paint and the point that will likely determine Hamilton's ceiling next season. 

Obviously, the 2020-21 Continentals will need to fill Kena's shoes by team play/committee.  It was apparent during January and February that as opponents loaded up their defenses on Kena, Hamilton spent a lot of time fishing for combinations to help him out. 

I expect that the roles of players on next year's squad will be a bit more clearly defined and their contributions will be more balanced from game-to-game.  Players won't be as inclined to watch and wait for Kena to make a big play or stop a run when the basket shrinks.  They'll play with more freedom, and benefit from an invaluable year of experience under their belts. 

What that translates into on the floor remains to be seen, but I wouldn't sell them short just yet.

Quote from: nescac1 on March 23, 2020, 05:20:20 PM
My mistake, Domer!  Conn returning for another year definitely helps Hamilton a bit.  Do you know what happened to Cooper?  I really liked his potential before he got hurt, lightning quick ...

On a separate note, congratulations to Hamilton's Kena Gilmour on winning the 2020 Jostens Trophy, in recognition of his talents on the basketball court, his academic prowess, and his commitment to service.  Michael Schantz ('99) is the only other Continental to win this award.

https://athletics.hamilton.edu/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20200323jmukdx

I'll leave the prognostications alone, except to note that Hamilton has three rising seniors on its roster for next season:  Spencer Kendall, Vincent Conn (injured during his junior year, expected to return), and Mike McEnaney (see https://athletics.hamilton.edu/sports/mbkb/2019-20/roster)

Quote from: nescac1 on March 23, 2020, 03:30:48 PM
Big time props to Colby Hoops for this preview.  I think he pretty well nails it.  I'd have only a few minor quibbles. 

I agree (and I think everyone really does) with the top tier.  Those are three top-25 teams to start the year.  But I think Tufts after such a strong year, and returning the POY, and losing only one guy (a key player, but with two very good rising sophs ready to take those minutes) is the best of the three heading into the season. 

My biggest quibble is with putting Colby in a tier by itself.  When Colby was humming, a big part of the reason was that Jefferson and Dorion were combining to shoot the ball with just ridiculous efficiency.  Once Jefferson got hurt (actually starting with the game before he got hurt) Colby really did struggle a bit.  In Colby's last ten games, they went 6-4.  The six wins included two wins over Bates (one in triple OT), narrow wins over struggling Wesleyan, Hamilton, and Southern Maine teams, and really only one very good win (beating Amherst).  Three of the four losses were by 10 or more points.  And again, next year, they are not only without Jefferson, but without fully half of the rotation.  Colby's system worked incredibly well when healthy, but that's a lot of guys to replace.  I do love their top four, for sure, all four of those guys can play, but the next 4-5 guys will all be totally new to the regular rotation.  What's also concerning is that for a team that focuses a ton on the 3 ball, the four returning guys aren't in the aggregate dead-eye shooters like Jefferson or Dorion.  And teams will be less likely to allow them breathing room next year as the top options to cover.  To me, Colby, Trinity, Williams, and Wesleyan all have pretty strong top 4s, but then a lot of question marks after that. Colby has the best top four for sure, but Trinity and Williams each  feature highly regarded young players to plug in behind the top four (whether those players actually pan out, remains to be seen).  And Trinity should get that 6'9 big guy back who missed this year with an injury, he looked like a promising player. 

I also might put Hamilton down in kind a tier by itself, right above Bowdoin (who I'd actually rank last heading into the season) and Conn.  There is some young talent there, but Hamilton went 16-9 versus an extremely weak schedule, finished 8th in the league, struggled big time down the stretch (5-7 in the last 12), and graduates a three-time all NESCAC / former POY in Gilmour, plus two more senior starters who were two of their four next leading scorers.  No double-digit scorer returns for them.  I don't really see any all-league candidates on the team except for MAYBE Cooper, but he missed the second half of the year to an injury, so presumably it was something pretty serious, limiting his prospects for a big leap forward next year.  Plus the Conts have only one rising senior on the roster, which is not a great situation to be in.  I think they are clearly headed for a rebuilding year. 

QuoteNothing like a being cooped up to spend some time posting. Stay safe and healthy everyone out there.

Looking at next year, I think the league breaks down into a few pretty clear tiers.

Rogers and Farrell are the two elite players (maybe Robinson if he's back to form) at the top of the league. After that I think there's a whole lot of players who you could find in the all-league discussion next year. Have noted some players I see as potential all-league players next year.

Top Tier

National contenders

Tufts -- Despite losing Savage (literally the only senior on their roster), who did everything for them and was their go-to-guy in any clutch situations, they are in a great position to replace him. Rogers will be an absolute handful and they'll still be deep in perimeter talent with Aronson, Thoerner, Morris, Brady, Cohen. Each of those first three guys all seem very capable of handling a larger load on offense.

All-League Potential: Rogers, Thoerner, Aronson, Morris

Middlebury -- I'd probably peg Midd as the favorite next year if Sobel is back. With or without him they'll be extremely good. They are teeming with big-time upperclassmen players. They will face the same questions defensively next year on the wing (although Sobel helps erase some issues). But Folger and Delorenzo were two of their better defenders against wings and now they mostly have small guards or big guys. Brockport exposed them athletically a bit. They should be a ridiculously good offensive team.

All-League Potential:Farrell, Eastman, Bosco, Sobel

Amherst -- Hard to get a read on the Mammoths after a strange year. Still a lot of questions to answer going into the season. Is Robinson back to his 2018-19 self? Can Day improve is consistency? Will the young big guys be able to step up? But, with Robinson, Day, Che, Allen, McCarthy that's a lot of perimeter talent to start with. I think you could argue putting Amherst in the tier below with Colby, but I have to think Robinson returns to a first-team all-league type player, which makes them a much different team.

All-League Potential: Robinson, Day, Che

Second Tier

Proven talent, lacking depth

Colby -- Mentioned a lot about them in my post from last week, but a lot will come down to players 5-8 in the rotation, which will be players who have not played much or true freshman. The top four is very good. Big man should be even more of a question mark as well.

All-League Potential: King, Hanna, Tyson, Tucker

Third Tier

Talent, but plenty of questions.

Williams -- Plenty of talented players, but very unproven. I think Williams' season made it look a bit worse than it was given the extremely difficult schedule. The defense was elite, but may slip without Feinberg and Babek. The offense is still a big question mark. CPS, Spivy and Jones all need to take big steps forward. If all three of them do, I think they could compete near the top of the league. If they don't it could be another up and down year. And they just need to make some perimeter shots, the shooting this year was a big struggle.

All-League Potential: CPS, Spivy, Jones

Wesleyan -- They return a lot, but they need a few guys to take a step forward. Sam Peek looks the part of a great Nescac player, but the shooting comes and goes. Antone Walker has never been a portrait of efficiency, if he can improve his shot selection and cut the turnovers that will help a lot. But this team should defend at an elite level and take a step forward.

All-League Potential: James, Peek, Walker

Trinity -- They lose a lot of minutes from good players including Padmore, Porydzy, Serretta, Bell and Brooks. Yet, there's still some players to build around. Colin Donovan is an all-league level player, Donald Jorden continues to be a very solid interior player and Steven Lora had a nice freshman year. Will Dorion seems like the most-likely incoming frosh to make a big impact as well. I'd expect a similarly inconsistent year, with stretches of great play.

All-League Potential: Donovan, Jorden

Bates -- Perhaps, these two teams could be in a lower tier, but it's close. Bates is probably another year away. Sarr, Baxter and Iwowo are super talented but will only be sophomores and it seems fairly likely that Sarr will not be able to play huge minutes given his constant foul trouble issues. Still, the future is bright and there will be a lot of opportunity for these young guys to expand their game.

All-League Potential: Sarr, Baxter

Hamilton -- I still like a lot of the players on this roster, but it was a really disappointing year for the Conts. None of the secondary players stepped up in ways that we might've expected, and Gilmour was left trying to do too much. I think Hamilton is in a somewhat similar position to Williams. They have a lot of talented players who need to all take steps forward. Cooper, Tirbaso, Mogan, Osarenren, Kendall, and Anderson all have plenty of talent to step forward. Just very hard to say if they will.

All-League Potential: Cooper, Tirbaso

Fourth Tier

The cellar dwellers

Bowdoin -- Going to be a long year in Brunswick without David Reynolds. Some solid players, but scoring is going to be hard to come by.

All-League Potential: Grad

Conn -- Should be improved and will be interested to see what the freshman class looks like. But they have a lot of improving to do to get close to the rest of the league (excluding Bowdoin).

All-League Potential:Draffan, McPherron

Last night, Tyler Aronson did not play for Tufts.  The Jumbos remaining talent was certainly enough to beat JWU in Medford.  However, Aronson is one of the biggest keys to Tufts' success.  I think he's a premier player in the NESCAC, but one who still seems to fly under the radar.

Quote from: Colby Hoops on January 14, 2020, 09:12:26 PM
I don't know if the numbers back this up, but it certainly feels like the non-conference results have been pretty poor for the Nescac as a whole when compared to past seasons. Another tough night as Tufts and Wesleyan lose to teams they should probably beat. Williams lost a hard fought game against St Joes, but it seems like we've said that a lot for them. Midd is the only team that's played some good opponents and consistently won.

The league is going to be a battle because I think there may be fewer Pool C bids than is typical for the Nescac.

Great comeback by the Continentals.  Major missed opportunity for Williams.  15 point lead blown in the last 10 minutes.  Kena Gilmour was bottled up for 30 minutes, but he responded down the stretch.  Prowitt-Smith shot it very well for Williams, but turned an ankle down the stretch, which limited his ability to shoot.  Hamilton's 1-3-1 zone seemed to be the antidote that caused problems for Williams, including turnovers and missed shots late in possessions.

Hamilton put an absolute beat-down on Nichols. Final 92-67. Not much compete from the Bison, and a solid resume and confidence booster for Hamilton as the team heads into its winter break. Very balanced scoring from the Continentals. Gilmour led the way with 14 and Cooper had 12, while both Lutz and Kendall added 11. Three players had 8, and two had 7.

Hamilton moves to 7-0 with a road win over Hartwick.  Kena Gilmour had five points at halftime, and then dropped 26 after the break.  With the spread at three late in the game, he hit two very deep threes on consecutive sets to put the game away.  His range and accuracy from the arc have improved, and he's making 89% of his FTs.  No McEnaney and Kendall spent the evening in foul trouble.  Sophs and frosh were solid.

While it's tough to tell much on one view, Gilmour appeared to show deeper range, more arc, and more consistency on his threes.  He did get into some trouble with TOs and charging fouls.  He's very aggressive, of course.  But the team chemistry and the trust will come and that will help him reduce TOs - better spacing, locating the player whose man doubled, taking advantage of kick-outs, spotting defensive rotations, etc. 

It was certainly encouraging to see them win without Denloye, without much from Lutz (had one big 4-point play), and with Gilmour on the bench during their comeback.  There's plenty to build upon from here.

Quote from: nescacfaninbos on November 17, 2019, 10:20:34 AM
Did not get a chance to watch the Hamilton game but one thing that stands out in the box score is that Gilmour scored 27 points on only 12 shots - that's remarkable efficiency.

Tonight, in the first round of Drew University's tournament, Hamilton was in a dogfight against TCNJ for long stretches, battling cold shooting and turnovers, learning about their new chemistry, and getting into foul trouble.  But the Continentals finished strong to win 88-81. 

With Kena Gilmour (27 points, 10-10 FTs) on the bench with 4 fouls, Hamilton was down 7 with 11 minutes to play.  Then, 6'8" frosh Patrick Mogan (prediction:  put him on the list of early contenders for NESCAC ROY) came off the bench to score in bunches with some strong low post moves, a face up jumper, and a steal/full court drive that led to a tip-in; he finished with 19 points and 3 steals.  Mogan is strong and skilled in all phases.

Down the stretch, Coach Stockwell played offense/defense with Gilmour, subbing him out on D and letting him run on O to protect the foul situation.  The strategy paid off as Gilmour knocked down 2 NBA threes on back to back possessions with about 7 minutes to play, and made all of his FTs when TCNJ was forced to foul.

Frosh Nkosi Cooper controlled the PG position, as Sayo Denloye sat out with an injury.  Cooper (10 pts) is a long lefty who handles the ball well and gets into the paint.  Soph Nick Osarenren had 10 boards, including 6 at the offensive end, and 7 points.  Soph Eric Anderson did not shoot it well, but got to good spots and took good shots - he finished with 9 points. 

This team will take some time to gel, but they have a lot of young talent.  Once they figure out how to play together, Hamilton will present some serious challenges and problems for their opponents.

Tyler Aronson, at a bare minimum, belongs on the list as one to watch.  As good as Savage may be, Aronson, who averaged 10 ppg as a frosh PG, will set the tone and make the Jumbos go. He is tough as nails and improving.  Among other things, Aronson has outstanding ability to create space and make shots on the move; he will also take and make big shots.

Don't sleep on Matt Hanna either.  As much as any player, his success will shape Colby's climb into contention for post-season possibilities.

On the "watch list", consider Hamilton's Sayo Denloye and Mark Lutz; each will fill up the stat sheets this year, running alongside Kena Gilmour.  Both made important contributions last season and will emerge to play leading roles as seniors.  Denloye's strength as a defender and ability to make big shots down the stretch last season (from the arc and at the cup) qualifies as an under-the-radar performance.  Lutz will make lots of buckets this year, particularly from three-point range.  The return from injury of Vincent Conn (PG), who played an important role in the backcourt during Hamilton's Sweet 16 run two years ago, will also add spark to this team and ignite the games of some of the underrated members of Gilmour's supporting cast.

Quote from: nescac1 on October 21, 2019, 10:25:18 AM
A shot at pre-season players to watch in NESCAC.  I feel like after Gilmour, Robinson and Farrell, the next 10-15 guys are pretty closely grouped.  The league isn't super top-heavy in talent this year, but is very deep:

1st team:
Kena Gilmour (POY)
Grant Robinson
Jack Farrell
Matt Folger
Sam Jefferson

2nd team:
Donald Jorden (toss-up between him, Jefferson and Folger for last two first-team spots)
Matt Karpowicz
Eric Sellew
Fru Che
David Reynolds

Other players to watch:
Eric Savage
Jeff Spellman
Brendan Morris
Luke Rogers
Zavier Rucker
Tommy Eastman
Spencer Spivy
Max Bosco
Dan Draffan
Noah Tyson
Matt Hannah
Kyle Padmore
Antone Walker
Nick Osarenren

All defense:
Kyle Padmore (POY)
Fru Che
Jovan Jones
Dean Weiner
Alex Sobel
(Grant Robinson and Devonn Allen are right there, as well)

All rookie (this is VERY speculative and certain to be way off):

Cole Prowitt-Smith (Williams) (ROY)
Casey McClaren (Tufts)
Nkosi Cooper (Hamilton)
C.J. Redd (Trinity)
Nate Karren (Williams)

Two Hamilton alumni, Peter Hoffmann and Michael Grassey, will play basketball and study in Ireland this year as Victory Scholars in the Sport Changes Life program.  Hoffmann will play for Cork IT, and Grassey will play for Waterford IT.  Here is a complete list of this year's SCL players:http://sportchangeslife.com/news/introducing-the-sport-changes-life-victory-scholar-class-of-2020/

Last year, former Trinity star Shay Ajayi (Ulster University) and two Amherst alumni, Johnny McCarthy (IT Carlow) and Mike Riopel (Ulster U.), were SCL Victory Scholars.  Matt St. Amour (Midd) and Jack Mackey (Wes) recently played in the SCL program as well.

Although not a former player, Gillian Zucker (Hamilton '90) is the president of business operations for the LA Clippers.

https://secure.nba.com/clippers/gillianzucker

Quote from: nescac1 on August 01, 2019, 04:13:10 PM
More cool stuff for Will Hardy: https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/mbkb/2018-19/releases/20190731uqnnh9

It's pretty amazing how many former NESCAC players are involved in a significant way with the NBA right now, given that hardly anyone in the NBA has ever heard of NESCAC basketball. 

Koby Altman, Middlebury -- Cavs G.M.
Duncan Robinson, Williams -- Miami Heat player
Will Hardy, Williams -- Spurs assistant
Connor Johnson, Amherst -- head coach of Delaware Bluecoats (Sixers G-League affiliate)
Rafael Stone, Williams -- Executive VP of Basketball Operations and General Counsel for Houston Rockets

And that doesn't even count Williams' Tucker Kain, CFO of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Will Kuntz, VP of soccer operations and Assistant GM of Los Angeles Football Club (MLS)

Anyone I'm forgetting?

If interested, you can support the D3 team and help defray costs for TBT here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/we-are-d3-tbt

Quote from: NEhoops on June 17, 2019, 09:20:59 AM
The TBT is right around the corner, see the link for bracket and schedule info - https://www.thetournament.com/

I have also included a listing of players that are from New England and/or played basketball at a D3 program in the Northeast.

Overseas Elite – In total, they have won four TBT titles, $7 million, and have a perfect record of 25-0. They are returning this year to defend their crown and go for five straight TBT titles.
JOHN DIBARTOLOMEO (Rochester – Westport, Connecticut)

We Are D3
MALCOLM DELPECHE (Bates)
LUCAS HAUSMAN (Bowdoin)
BRADLEY JOMARD (MIT)
JOHNNY MCCARTHY (Amherst)

Tampa 20/20
DAQUAN BROOKS (WCSU)

Three more:

(1) Kyle Smith - new Head Coach - Washington State University (Hamilton '92) - former coach at Columbia University

(2) Bill Coen - Head Coach at Northeastern University (Hamilton '83) - one of his assistants is none other than
                        Tom Murphy, who coached Hamilton for 34 years.

(3) Gillian Zucker - President of Business Operations, Los Angeles Clippers (Hamilton '90) - the only female team president in the NBA

Quote from: nescac1 on April 30, 2019, 11:14:49 AM
Congrats to Brian Emerson (Williams class of 2012), the new head coach at Sewanee. 

http://www.sewaneetigers.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/releases/20190429o5wfaf

One of these days it would be interesting to see a list all the NESCAC alums currently serving as college head coaches or in other prominent basketball-related jobs.  From Williams alone, there is Emerson, Dave Paulsen (George Mason coach), Will Hardy (Spurs assistant), Mike Crotty (head of prominent AAU program), and Pat Duquette (Umass Lowell head coach), plus likely some others I'm not thinking of.  There are loads more from other schools as well (e.g. Cavs' GM Koby Altman from Midd, and a bunch of Amherst alums currently serving as D3 head coaches).

Fall River Dreams is a wonderful book.

Fast-forwarding to the present, the ESPN special about Chris Herren's journey through darkness and recovery is remarkably well done.

Moreover, if you have an opportunity to persuade local school officials (middle school, high school) or college admins to bring Chris in to speak, do it.  His message about alcohol, drug, and (specifically) opiod abuse is incredibly timely, gut-wrenching, and inspiring.

Check out his organization on social media.  Get him to a school near you.  No one will regret it.

Quote from: nescac1 on April 03, 2019, 02:07:49 PM
Cool event for anyone in the area - Chris Herren is speaking at Williams next week:  https://ephsports.williams.edu/general/2018-19/releases/20190403iuapdy

I highly recommend Fall River Dreams, which focuses on Herren's high school years (among other things), for anyone who wants to read a great hoops memoir.  Similar to Friday Night Lights.